1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to games and more particularly to games in which players move tokens along a path subject to periodic disruption.
2. Background Art
There are numerous prior art games in which players race assigned tokens along a path pursuant to chance determinations. Such games have long been popular pastimes. To enhance interest in and enjoyment of such games, serpentine and/or spiral paths moving up a three dimensional structure have been used, as in Steinhardt et al. U.S. Pat. No. 907,421 issued Dec. 22, 1908. Interest in and enjoyment of path games involving a three dimensional structure have been further enhanced by random and/or player directed devices for disrupting the upward movement of the assigned tokens. Thus for example, missiles or other hazards slideably or movably related to a mountain for physically knocking off tokens are shown in Rudell et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,655 issued Jun. 8, 1982; water is used to remove tokens from play in Barlow U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,028 issued Sep. 7, 1982 and in United Kingdom Patent Application 2,028,148 published Mar. 5, 1980, a whimsical animal atop the center of a three dimensional game board is operated to project a retractable piston driven shaft to capture game tokens. Hayes U.S. Pat. No. 3,649,021 issued Mar. 14, 1972 is a board game in which a ball is dropped down an upstanding central randomizing device for disrupting assigned tokens on the game path. Goldfarb et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,925 issued Jun. 10, 1980 has a movable housing that is positioned at one end of a path at the beginning of a turn and from time to time a propelled wheel vehicle is released from the housing to knock down a token on the path. Zaruba et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,886 discloses a game board having a spiral path along which players move one or a stack of tokens with a wind-up spring motor random moving disrupter being released from time to time to knock down the tokens. There nevertheless continues to be a need for relatively simply path games in which players move assigned tokens to reach a goal with the chance of an interesting mechanical device moving randomly along the path disrupting the players' attempts to move their tokens to the end of the path.